Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-01-30
WANTED CLUE.
IcoNCLUsIoN.l ]
CHAPTER II.


IcoNCLUsIoN.
CHAPTER II.
Another week passed by, Edith grow
ing more and more PROSTATE each day
and was very aoxious to hear from DR.
Archer. AT last arrived letter in I
hand disguised as q lady's. on girlisl
Light blue note paper. with Helen
stamped on it. These precautions woult
have made me smile had l not known
how necessary they were. All the let
tsrs which entered the house had frs
10 undergo Mrs. Morrell's scrutiny.
sT am utterly be fflad." he wrote In &
very shaky hand. 'sThe experiment
from which hoped SO much has turned
out an utter failure. ALI the substances
Submitted to me have been subjected to
the most minute and delicate tests
known to scieace without discovering in
any one of them the slightest trace Of
arsenic or any other poison. am in
despair. know that somehow my dar-
ling 8 life is being undermined by poison,
and yet / cannot trace it. am power
less to interfere. I have nothing but
suspicion to go upon, and dare not apply
for q magistrates warrant. My only
hope is in you, Miss Armitage."
knew / was but slender reed to
trust to, and went upstairs to the sick
room feeling miserable to the last degree.
Mrs. Morrell was seated by the bedside.
Edith looked thinner and paler than
ever. She moaned out when she saw
me, that she was $50 thirsty" and bad
hardly been supplied with a cooling
draught when the racking cramps from
which she had lately suffered so terribly
came on, and she writhed in every limb.
I wiped the cold drops from her fore
head. afraid at the moment that she was
dying, the attack was so terribly severe
and seemed to exhaust her so much.
By-and-by she fell into doze, and Mrs.
Morrell went out of the room. Feeling
perfectly desperate. l commenced q
Thorough search through the apartment
for anything suspicious, without finding
the smallest thing which would serve .
= clue. Probably aroused the invalid,
for, ON returning to the bedside, fund
her staring at me with the fixed gaze OF
. sick person.
Edith, dear, tell me, have you ever
seen Mrs. Morrell-or any ybody-put any
powder or liquid into your medicine or
food Have you ever noticed that it
had disagreeable taste or a sediment at
the bottom?"
s'No, never" she answered with evil
enough between the paroxysms. "Nev-
er, Alice"
Just then rap sounded at the door,
and purblind. old DR.. Stevens came tot.
tering into the room. nearly upsetting a
small table, and seeming scarcely able to
hold his patients wrist firm in his shaky
old fingers. l watched him with the
maddening feeling that if ever two un.
scrupulons poisoners had the very medi.
cal msn most desirable IN their case, ii
was these two. Mrs. Morrell came into
the room as usual during his visits, and
followed him down stairs.
/ waylaid her later on in the day and
asked her what DR.. Stevens had said.
She replied that, unfortunately, their
darling was very ill, but while there was
life their was nope. Then summoniug
all my nerve. I boldly asked that
might be allowed to sit up with Edith
that night. She looked rather aston
ished, then thanking me warmly for nv
s'kind Offer" declined on the plea of not
robbing me of my rest. replied that it
Was not fair that she should have all the
night nursing. but all that l got was a
very decided "No."
L went away convinced that the dan.
ger. whatever it was, was reserved for
the night. When the invalid was left
alone with her traitorous nurse, in some
form the poison was administered.
"Does Mrs. Morrell sit beside you all
night." l asked Edith, the next time
ne were left alone.
s.Oh, no. she would ii l wanted her,
but 1 don't like it. 1t fidgets me to see
her. Besides, 1 generally sleep pretty
well the first part of the night. She
puts on her dressing gown and lies on
the bed in the next room, ready to come
If call her,"
The mystery only seemed to grow the
44bQtC hucLI tHO luttAOh L puf
1t. l went thoughtfully to my room in
search of book was reading aloud to
Edith, promising to return Immediately.
As / stopped to reach the volume from a
low shelf the one ring wore which had
always been a great deal too large for
me. slipped from my finger and rolled
away across the floor, to disappear under
the hangings of my large, old-tashioned
bedstead. Much annoyed and anxious
10 recover it, for it was priceless to me
as my dear mothers engagement ring, l
went down on my hands and knees and
tried to find it, but in vain. The dark.
ness under the massive draperies was
and could see nothing in the
L looked around for a light. But
there was no gas at the hall. and my
candlestick was carried down stairs
every morning by the housemaid TO re-
appear no more till late in the evening,
On the slab in the hall. scarcely liked
to ring for it, for my position disposed
nse to trouble the servants as little as
possible. All at once recollected that
the candlesticks were never taken out of
Edith's room, and that / would borrow
one of hers. did so, and lighted it,
and setting it on the floor, soon found
my ring.
SLOW badly that candle burns, to be
zare. l remarked to myself as l rose to
my feet. "The wax cannot be good"
The light was anything out pure, being
6 = peculiar reddish color; and the
Lac sputtered 90 much that more than
80 thnught it was going out. At
- eame time It gave off = fine white
1 1steed watching the sputtsring Hams
Ter soae minutea. mach puzzled, until I
re0enbered That tke Invalid wss aloue
I'll this time. So I eaz1to1 the candle.